Opening-instrument for binding-clips



(No Model.)

H. H. BALLARD. OPENING INSTRUMENT FOR BINDING CLIPS.

No. 439,994. Patented Nov. 4, 1890.

INVENTO/I:

ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HARLAN I-l. BALLARD, OF PITTSFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS.

OPENING-INSTRUMENT FOR BINDING-CLIPS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 439,994, dated November 4, 1890.

Application filed July 16, 1890.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HARLAN H. BALLARD, of Pittsfield, in the county of Berkshire and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Opening-Instruments for Binding-Clips, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to instruments for opening spring binding-clips used to hold papers, pamphlets, magazines, and other articles together. Such clips are usually of approximate U shape with their sides inclining toward each other from back to front, and when it is required to put such a clip onto the papers or articles to be held it is necessary to open or Spring the sides of the clip apart. To do this, the spring-clips have been provided with fixed handles for opening them arranged to project backwardly from the clip; but such handles are greatly in the way, and to avoid their use, yet to provide for the easy opening of the clip, I proposed, as described in Letters Patent No. 430,331, issued to me June 17, 1890, to construct the spring binding clip with openings in it adapted to receive independent levers for springing its sides apart or opening it. These levers were combined to form apinchers-like instrument and had to be specially constructed to engage with the walls of the holes in the clip.

I now propose and the instrument which is the subject of this specification has for its object an improvement in the independent levers for springing the sides of the oli p apart or opening it. This improvement consists, essentially, in making the engaging ends of said levers of a peculiarly bent or hooked form, so that they may engage with the sides of the clip either by passing into the holes in the sides of the clip, as was the case in the instrument described in my Letters Patent hereinbefore referred to, or, preferably, by engaging with the sides or ends of a clip'having no such holes, so that a perfectly-plain or closely-constructed clip may be used and be quickly opened when desired.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 represents a longitudinal view, as

Serial No. 358,916. (No model.)

Fig. 5 is a side view of the instrument under a modified form of construction.

Referring in the first instance to the first four figures of the drawings, my improved clip-opening instrument is .in the form of a pair of detachable and engaging nippers,but with its levers or main members-that is, its jaws a a, with their attached handlesb b'- not arranged to cross each other at the pivot c uniting them, so that on closing to the handle the jaws open, and vice versa. In its normal state the jaws a a of the instrument, which are generally of a curved or bowed shape, are held closed by suitable springpressure applied to throw the handles 12 b open. this purpose consists of two flat or bowed springs (Z d, secured at their back ends to the inside of the outer ends of the handles and engaging in a free or sliding manner, as bya tongue e and slot f at their free ends, to insure the two members formed by the jaws and handles working in unison with each other and giving to the instrument a spring-like ac tion. The outer ends of the curved jaws cm are of special construction-tl1at is, are made with hooked extremities s s turning inward, thereby virtually forming U-shaped recesses between said extremities and the adjacent portions of the jaws. To apply such instrument to spring open a clip-such, for instance, as shown at A in Figs. 2 and 4when it is required to put said clip onto the papers or article it is designed to hold the handles 1) b are closed by the hand toward each other, which opens the jaws a a to receive between them the spring-clip A, and so that on relaxing pressure upon the handles the free extremities of the spring sides of the clip will enter within the hooked ends 3 s of thejaws, as shown in Fig. 2, and by farther squeezing A convenient spring arrangement for or closing the handles 17 b the jaws a a will befarther opened to spring outward the spring sides and month end of the clip with which said jaws are engaged. This opens the springclip to apply it to the article or articles it is intended to bind or hold, after which the instrument is disengaged from said clip, the elasticity of which exerts the necessary binding action.

In the modification shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings the levers,instead of being pivoted together, are made all in one piece of spring metal or havinga back spring portion d, uniting the handle parts I) b of the levers, and the jaw-end portions a a of the levers, having the hoolcshaped formations s sin their outer engaging extremities, are made to cross each other; but the action is the same as that described for the other modification.

By means, then, of this lever-instrument, which forms a separate or detachable handle to open the spring-clip by, the same may readily be applied to and made to engage with or over the mouth end of the clip, whereby a plain or closely-constructed and smooth clip or cluster of such clips maybe usedthat is, a clip without any projections on or perforations in it-f0r the openinginstrument to engage with or the same instrument may be used to open a clip constructed substantially as described in my Letters Patent hereinbefore referred to,having openings in its sides, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings, by simply entering the hooked end 8 s of thejaws through said openings, so as to engage with the walls of them and manipulating the instrument as hereinbefore described.

Having thus fully described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. In a pinchers-like instrument for opening spring binding-clips, the jaws at the forward ends of the handle portions of the instrument bent over or inward and backward at their fronts in a substantially-parallel man ner upon themselves, thereby forming integral hook-shaped extremities open in the rear, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In a pinchers-like instrument for opening spring binding clips, the opening and closing portions of the instrument, each consisting of a single member composed of a handle portion and bowed jaw, said members being united to open at their jaw ends on closin g the handles and the jaws being bent over and inward or backward at their outer ends in a substantially-parallel manner, forming hook-shaped extremities open in the rear, essentially as set forth.

3. In an instrument for opening spring binding-clips, the combination of the bowed jaws a a, having hook-shaped outer extremities s s and handles b b, the pivot c, uniting said members, composed each of a jaw and handle on opposite sides of the axis of the pivot, and the springs d cl, attached to the handles and in sliding engagement with each other, substantially as shown and described.

HARLAN H. BALLARD.

Witnesses:

LUCY B. BALLARD, MAGGIE JoYoE. 

